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The Latest Poli-Book Best Sellers

By Deborah Hofmann February 24, 2007 8:28 amFebruary 24, 2007 8:28 am

Sharp elbows characterize this month’s round-up of authors on the stumps and soapboxes. Whether they are shaking hands or kissing babies, (or as some might conflate it, kissing hands and shaking babies), merely kissing up or shaking things up, there are a lot of viewpoints expressed here whose only common ground is their cloth bindings.

Polite low-talkers need not apply. A passing knowledge of Roberts Rules of Orders is utterly superfluous. Talk radio’s Neal Boortz shares his mastery of one and two word sentences (Nada. Big Deal. Euro-Wimp.) And focus group impresario, Frank Luntz, (also a Republican pollster) tells us it does not matter what you say, it matters what people hear. Huh?

Above the fray, the elbows on his jacket not yet in need of a leather patch, is Barack Obama. If the Best Seller List is Mr. Obama’s best barometer, it would appear that he can afford to wave from a dignified gallery above the murmuring many. (This is the third month in a row he rules at No. 1.) In fact, if we were to go deeper than this top 20, we’d find the hardcover edition of “Dreams From My Father” ranked at No. 21.

(For well over a year, the paperback nonfiction edition –which essentially lives at the top tier of that list in the New York Times Book Review — has been contributing far more than its share to the light bills in bookstores around the country.)

Some newcomers who are old hands on the political front have also jumped pretty quickly onto our list; Senator Chuck Schumer and Terry McAuliffe. And in case you’ve missed the publicity surrounding the release of the documentary “Amazing Grace,” or our Caucus post on Sam Brownback, a book about conservative William Wilberforce rounds out the pack.

Here’s the list:Based on sales for January 21 through February 18 2007

1. The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama. (Crown, $25.) The Illinois junior senator proposes that Americans move beyond their political divisions.

2. Power, Faith and Fantasy, by Michael B. Oren. (Norton, $35.) A history of America’s relations with the Middle East starting in 1776.

3. The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. (Houghton Mifflin, $27.) An Oxford scientist asserts that belief in God is irrational and that religion has done great harm in the world.

4. Culture Warrior, by Bill O’Reilly. (Broadway, $26.) The host of “The O’Reilly Factor” describes a culture war between traditionalists and secular-progressives.

5. The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $30.) A columnist for The Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy.

6. Words That Work, by Frank Luntz. (Hyperion, $24.95.) The political pollster and focus group guru describes what he calls the craft of elective language.

7. A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah. (Sarah Crichton/Farrar, Straus & Giroux.) A former child soldier from Sierra Leone describes his drug-crazed killing spree and his return to humanity.

8. What a Party! by Terry McAuliffe with Steve Kettmann. (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s Press, $24.95.) Memoirs of the legendary Democratic Party fund-raiser and strategist.

9. Supreme Conflict, by Jan Crawford Greenburg. (Penguin, $27.95.) The inside story of the struggle for control of the United States Supreme Court.

10. Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. (Free Press, $26.) A memoir by the Somai-born advocate for Muslim immigrant women, once a member of the Dutch Parliament, who has been threatened with death.

11. American Fascists, by Chris Hedges. (Free Press, $25.) The Christian Right and the war on America.

12. The Enemy at Home, by Dinesh D’Souza. (Doubleday, $26.95.) The cultural left and its responsibility for 9/11.

13. Letter To a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. (Knopf, $16.95.) The author of “The End of Faith,” responds to Christians’ arguments in defense of their beliefs

14. Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter. (Simon & Schuster, $27.) The former president calls for revitalizing the peace process.

15. The Fight For Jerusalem, by Dore Gold. (Regnery, $27.95.) Radical Islam, the West, and the future of the Holy City.

16. Imperial Life In The Emerald City, by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. (Knopf, $25.95) Inside Iraq’s Green Zone that was posh and privileged headquarters in Baghdad for the American occupation of Iraq.

17. Somebody’s Gotta Say It, by Neal Boortz. (HarperCollins, $25.95.) The radio personality weighs in on the coming political season.

18. The Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Rosen. (Times Books/Henry Holt, $25.) The personalities and rivalries that defined America; companion to the PBS series.

20. Amazing Grace, by Eric Metaxas. (Harper San Francisco, $21.95.) William Wilberforce and the heroic campaign to end slavery.

Rankings reflect aggregated sales for the four weeks ended January 21, 2006 through February 18 at almost 4,000 bookstores plus wholesalers serving 50,000 other retailers, statistically weighted to represent all such outlets nationwide. An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A dagger indicates that some bookstores report receiving bulk orders. Expanded rankings are available at The New York Times on the Web: nytimes.com/books.

If only so many of these books were the non-
fiction they purported to be. Most of them are
just opinion cloaked in pseudo-research. Seldom
are they as correct in their facts as they should
be. The facts presented are often agenda-driven
skeletons of the complete story. Search their
bibliographies and footnotes to check their sources. Citations meaningful to their discus-
sion are valuable and usually a good indicator
of the quality of their research on the subject
they write about. We all have opinions about the
issues of the day but for the most part that is
all they are, opinions.

The designation of Christian RIGHT has to be changed to another title that doesn’t denote CORRECTNESS….which is the initial definition by the majority of the English-speaking of the word RIGHT….possibly WRONG would be a good exchange… it sounds so much more in keeping with their history….both ecclisiastically and politically……since these comments are based on truths I really can’t see them classified as abusive…Thank you, Frank

I am in the process now of reading “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama…number 1 on this Blog site list. For anyone who wishes to learn more about this Presidential hopeful, this book tells alot about the Senator from Illinois. The one aspect that I like about books written by the politician, him or herself, is that when the political winds blow a different direction, it is harder for the politician to change positions very easily. It seems like so many politicians do focus polling to determine key positions…and how less-leadership like is that?

I appreciated reading Senator Obama’s thoughts about how to improve education in America. A section was devoted to the importance of having good teachers in the classroom. I agree with Senator Obama, and appreciate his mention of this in his book. I would think there would be little denial among most educators that early childhood education or full-day kindergarten cannot supplant having an experienced and well-qualified teacher in the follow-up grades of 1-12. Unfortunately, well-qualified and experienced teachers cost money…and just as in life in general, school boards and legislatures have to determine an appropriate level of funding to secure the quality and quantity desired.

I would think that in Nevada, especially in Clark County (the county where Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada are located), Senator Obama’s message would play well to the teachers working in the school district. Higher salaries (and the Senator is talking “much” higher salaries or so it is written in his book) most likely would be correlated with more highly skilled and experienced teachers. The Clark County School District, according to a recent Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper article is close to 500 teachers short at this time…and have to staff classrooms with substitute teachers. This fact alone, may move Senator Obama’s teacher following in this part of the state up a few rungs on the Presidential candidate ladder

@sheldon mitchell
Lets take it a step further. It is becoming quite fashionable now to be an atheist. Actually is considered a step closer to believing in some kind of power. The religious presidential hopefuls better understand that and change course quickly.

It is not your need for a candidate, it is your need for a set of policies that ensure the safety of America and ones that ACTUALLY SERVE THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S.A. You all have been serving the RICH GUYS for so long that it seems that every word out of your mouth is something to question and validate if it is true. Give it up this election. For a while, “Sonny” has finished off the Republican Party with his stubborn unreasonable simpleminded nature.

“Dreams From My Father” is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I can relate to Barack’s various struggles, and I think many other people can, too. It is clear that Mr. Obama cares deeply and passionate about the lives of people.

President Obama drew criticism on Thursday when he said, “we don’t have a strategy yet,” for military action against ISIS in Syria. Lawmakers will weigh in on Mr. Obama’s comments on the Sunday shows.Read more…